Sia’s New Music Video Brings Out the Fighter in All of Us

The music video for Sia’s single Alive dropped yesterday and aliveis the perfect word to describe the way it will make you feel.

Like all of Sia’s videos, the concept and execution are simple. A little girl, donning a signature “Sia wig” (in a half black, half white style), stands at the center of an empty warehouse. Everything from the light to the editing to the choreography is simple, not flashy.

As always, Sia doesn’t star in her video. The only star of this 5-minute art piece is straight up unchecked girl power.

I was born in a thunderstorm
I grew up overnight
I played alone
I played on my own
​I survived

The only person featured is a young girl no older than 11 or 12. A look of fierce determination on her face, she bares her teeth in concentration as she skillfully executes her martial arts practice.

She is the hero of her own story.

Quietly, she moves across the room with a grace and power unexpected of someone her age or her size.

She is the picture of strength and focus and you immediately believe that she could conquer the whole world if she wanted to. She embodies bravery—not fearlessness, but bravery: the ability to stare your fear in the eye and fight back.

But it’s more than that. She is more than just strong; she’s alone, and it’s OK. She isn’t doing what she’s doing for the benefit of anybody but herself.

The video opens with its protagonist sitting in a pile of rubble. That place of ruin, sadness, and destruction can be hard to come back from, but she (literally) came out swinging. She is the hero of her story.

I had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go
Where the wind don’t change
And nothing in the ground can ever grow
No hope, just lies
And you’re taught to cry in your pillow
But I survived

Thank you, Sia, for the reminder to keep on fighting.

What do you think of Sia’s latest video? Start a discussion in the comments!